The Wellness Tag With a Cup Of Toast

Today I have Jo doing The Wellness Tag. Jo blogs at a Cup of Toast and loves to read, write and chat. Jo has a chronic health condition but is determined that it will not define who she is.

The Wellness Tag:

Question 1) What does wellness mean to you?

To me, wellness is about being healthy in mind and in the body. It is about moving past both physical illness and stress or anxiety. I have a chronic health condition, so wellness also means being in the best health and state of well-being that I can be in, which might not be the same as the next person.

Question 2) If someone was struggling with life what advise would you give to them?

Gosh, it depends on what they were struggling with. Sometimes the best thing to do is to give yourself time off to go for a long walk, but sometimes you need a long-term plan. Little steps that can be achieved each week without pressure. Pacing yourself. Learning to say no and balance what you already have going on before taking on more.

Question 3? What’s something that always makes you feel better?

Listening to music. I can do that whatever my current state of health is like and become totally immersed in it in different ways. I am nearly always moved in one way or another by a piece of music.

Question 4? Who or what inspires you and why?

The human capacity to continually make new discoveries. I try to take inspiration from the positives that I see in the news rather than the negatives. I’ve recently been watching Blue Planet II with my sons and love the Tuskfish which uses a rock to open its food. It’s incredible to watch.

Question 5? What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?

Someone once made me reflect on what’s really important to me and how I prioritise and expand my efforts. In having children, it’s made me acutely aware of the passage of time – and I strive to make sure I’m focussing on what’s actually important for me and my family. The advice I was given then was to let go of matters outside of my control and to move on when something wasn’t working out for me. It sounds really obvious now, but it is important to remember to do this!

Question 6? Any tips for a happy life?

Relax and go with the flow, but remember to make the effort to inject spontaneity! Life can quickly fill up with more routine activities. I always look for opportunities to pop in a day out or block out time in the diary to spend time together at home building Lego boats.

Question 7? How do you stop yourself from comparing yourself to others?

It’s difficult, but for me, I think it came with age. I am my own person and over time I have become more aware and more comfortable with that. I’ve also stopped trying to please others to the detriment of me, and have become more honest as a result. What you see is who I am. There isn’t another side to me.

Question 8? How do you keep your home happy?

I describe my home and family as my ‘happy chaos’. We embrace the noise and the silence. We share in each other’s successes and build each other up when we’ve missed out on something. I hope that our happy home environment will stand my young sons in good stead for the rest of their lives.

Question 9? What’s helped you the most in life to be happy?

Undoubtedly my family. I include in that my very close friends. I think that without them I wouldn’t be the person that I am. I always look for the positive in any situation and I do believe that in doing so I generally have a calm and happy outlook on life. I owe a lot of that to my relationships and experiences as I grew up.

Question 10? If you could share one thing that’s made your life better what would it be?

Learning to relax. Properly relax. Without building in time to take air I think life could become extremely frenetic. I’ve been there before and have no desire to go back! Finding space both physically but also in my head to move away from the daily pressures of life is so important. That’s where listening to music helps me out too!